Sins of the Master
by Xehra
Summary: The lovers are betrayed by the one that they trusted most.


Title: Sins of the Master  
Author: Xehra xehra1@hotmail.com   
Category: Angst  
Rating: PG  
Pairing/Characters: Anakin, Padmè  
Disclaimer: George Lucas owns the Star Wars galaxy and all the people and places in it. I make no money from this story.  
Warnings: None  
Spoilers: For the Forbidden Love trailer I guess, from which this fic draws inspiration. Beyond that, everything else is simply conjecture.  
Summary: The lovers are betrayed by the one that they trusted most.  
Feedback: Pretty please! Always appreciated.  
Notes: Thanks to Peta for the beta :). Written for the second session of the Exploring the Other Side project: http://www.generalkenobi.com/etos   
  
  
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Sins of the Master  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"It's all Obi-Wan's fault!"  
  
Something flew across the room, propelled not only by Anakin's arm; there was a fury behind his words that made Padmè flinch. She stood, framed by sunlight, in the doorway of the desert dwelling they had appropriated for their clandestine meetings.  
  
"What is his fault Ani? He has never been anything but a friend to us... "  
  
"NO!" shouted the Padawan, kicking over a low table in frustration. "He is *not* our friend! A friend would never do this!"  
  
Padmè steeped forward, seeking to touch him, to calm him down. Seeing the expression on Anakin's face as he rounded on her made her hesitate.  
  
Face contorted with frustration and anger, the Jedi Padawan clenched his fists uselessly. The veins stood out in his neck. For the first time since she had met him ten years ago, Padmè was afraid of him.  
  
After a moment, however, his anger abated and his shoulders slumped. The pouting expression she knew so well returned to his face. Taking a step toward him, Padmè tried to tell herself that this was just another childish tantrum, but the intensity of it made her wonder. There was something else...   
  
"Anakin, what is it? What has happened?" she asked gently, placing one hand on his arm.  
  
He looked down at her, eyes full of pain and a faint disbelief. "He has betrayed us. Obi-Wan has betrayed us!" His voice rose to a shout again and he turned away to hide the tears in his eyes. "He told them," he added quietly.  
  
Padmè's mind raced. Told who? There was only one answer and a heartbeat later Anakin confirmed her guess.  
  
"The Council. He went to the Council! How could he do this to me? To us?" The Padawan picked up another object d'art and weighed it in his palm. Then he raised his arm and flung it against the mudbrick wall, where it shattered into a thousand shards. Padmè winced.  
  
"So the Council knows... " she said, more to herself than the enraged Anakin.  
  
"Yes! And they will not sit still for this. I know what they are capable of, Padmè, and I will not let them ruin this!"  
  
She sat down on a chair, mind still reeling with the implications of Obi-Wan's betrayal. The Jedi would never allow her to be with Anakin. Long had their archaic Code weighed heavy on her heart, forbidding the joys of love along with the darker emotions. "This?"  
  
"Us!" answered Anakin. He crossed the room in a few steps, knelt at her feet and took possession of her hand. "Us, Padmè," he said in a quieter tone.  
  
She returned his gaze steadily, feeling herself falling into the blue, blue depths of his eyes as she always did. "They cannot destroy what we have, Anakin. No one can," she answered just as softly.  
  
"No, they cannot. But they will try. I know they will!" He gripped her hand tighter and his voice took on an urgency she had not heard before. "I love you Padmè. You know this?"  
  
She closed her eyes briefly, hearing his first open declaration and clutching the words to her heart. "I know, Anakin. And know I love you."  
  
His expression softened and he stood, pulling her upright and enfolding her in a tight embrace. "My love," he whispered, holding her closely, his face buried in her hair.  
  
They stood together in the simple dwelling, clinging to each other as if afraid the moment they were parted the emotion would be lost.  
  
"What will we do?" she asked after a time.  
  
"We will go away. Far from here. From them," Anakin replied, his voice stony.  
  
Padmè drew back in wonder. Her eyes widened she realized what he was asking. Her duties as Senator, her family and trusted friends... Could she sacrifice them all for Anakin? Her heart answered for her. She would follow him to the ends of the galaxy.  
  
But what of Anakin? He would leave the Order for her? Give up the life for which he had been trained?   
  
Anakin must have heard the unspoken questions in her mind. "The Jedi have denied me that which I most desire. They are now my enemies."  
  
His eyes were cold now, and unyielding. She recognised the signs and knew this vow was irreversible; he was the most stubborn person she knew.   
  
She nodded, accepting this as part of their new life together. If they were to be free, they must defy the Jedi Code's prohibition of love.  
  
"It's all Obi-Wan's fault," Anakin said suddenly, repeating his original accusation. "If he had not told them about us, about our love, then this would not be necessary. I would not ask it of you if it was not the only way."  
  
"I know," she replied, attempting a reassuring smile.  
  
Suddenly Anakin was impatient to leave. "We must go. They'll know we're here, they'll have tracked my transport."  
  
Padmè frowned. "But how will they know you're gone yet? Surely... "  
  
Anakin, bustling around the room gathering belongings, cut her off. "I was summoned to appear before the Council, but I came straight here instead. The Padawan who brought the message told me what had happened, how my own Master... " he trailed off, and Padmè feared he was working himself up into another rage.  
  
Instead, Anakin dropped onto a chair, his head in his hands. When he looked up, she could see the tears coursing down his cheeks. "How could he do this? Why?" he croaked.  
  
Padmè knelt at his feet and put her hands on his knees. One strong hand reached down to touch her hair. "He felt it was his duty, Anakin. You know there is no Jedi more honourable than Obi-Wan Kenobi."  
  
"Yes there is! There *was*, anyway. Qui-Gon would have understood. *He* would not have broken our trust. *He* would have let me follow my heart... " Anakin's hand on her head clenched suddenly, pulling her hair painfully. "But he is not here! And why? I'll tell you why!"  
  
"Anakin!" The young Senator broke away from his grip and drew back, watching him with frightened eyes. Looking deep into his face, she saw there something dark. Something that scared her more than his casual violence.  
  
He didn't hear her. "I'll tell you why Qui-Gon is gone! Because of Obi-Wan! He let him die! He let that Sith-spawn skewer him! Qui-Gon! The only person who ever cared for me besides my mother... "  
  
The tears were flowing freely now. "I care for you Ani," said Padmè, but he did not hear her.  
  
He stood, face contorted with fury and things began to be thrown again. But this time he did not use his hands.  
  
Padmè leapt to her feet as furniture levitated and was flung against the wall. One by one, furnishings and household items met with the unyielding hardness of mudbrick and were shattered by the force that propelled them.  
  
"Anakin!" Padmè was screaming now. "Stop it!"  
  
"It's all his fault! Obi-Wan's! He has ruined my life! First he takes away my Master, and now tries to keep me from my love!"   
  
The floor was littered with broken pieces of chairs and tables, while the tremendous noise was drawing a crowd. Concerned neighbours peered curiously but carefully through the open doorway.  
  
When there was nothing left to throw, Anakin stopped. He looked at Padmè, his eyes still burning with lingering anger. And then it was gone.  
  
"Anakin... " she stepped forward hesitantly, pushing away her fear. Anakin rounded on her, his face a mask. She could tell he was trying to get a handle on his emotions.  
  
Another noise made them both turn. Uniformed men appeared on the doorstep.  
  
"This is security!" boomed a voice, impossible to pinpoint because of the helmets the troopers wore. "Cease and desist all activity!"  
  
Weapons were pointed in Anakin's direction. "Place your hands over your head and kneel down on the ground!"  
  
The Padawan regarded this new threat with impassivity and a full half-minute elapsed as everyone waited to see what he would do. If she hadn't known his capabilities, Padmè would have believed he would acquiesce. But she did know, and so a heartbeat before he struck, she threw up her hands instinctively to shield her face.  
  
The Force lashed out at the security troops, an invisible blast that picked them up and threw them backwards. Some crumpled as they hit the wall, others flew through the open doorway and brought down onlookers with them. They hadn't even had time to fire their weapons.  
  
Padmè gasped as she lowered her arms, horrified at the violence unleashed by her love. A fragment of the Code flashed into her mind... *A Jedi shall not know anger*.  
  
But he had just been defending himself, she thought, and soon there would be more of them. She forced herself to move, running to Anakin's side. "Come on! Anakin, we must go!"  
  
He seemed to be in a daze, but she managed to drag him through the door by the arm.  
  
The crowd parted without a word, and the two plunged through them, intent on reaching their speeder.  
  
A combined murmur from the people around them was all the warning Anakin needed as a trooper got to his feet. Before the blaster was fired at their backs, his lightsaber was in his hand and ignited. The blade swung faster than thought, catching the bolt and deflecting it.  
  
The trooper gave a muffled grunt of surprise as the red laser easily pierced his armour. To Padmè, it seemed as if he fell in slow motion. Sand kicked up where his body hit the ground, and a woman screamed. The crowd recoiled simultaneously, distancing themselves from death.  
  
And then they were running. Anakin held her hand tightly as they sprinted for the safety of their speeder.   
  
If they were quick, Padmè thought with frightening clarity, they may make it to the spaceport before this was reported. If they were lucky.  
  
She tried to ignore the other thing her mind was trying to tell her. It had to do with Anakin, and death. And the grim, satisfied expression he now wore as they ran.  
  
~END~ 


End file.
